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Google Makes Plan to Block “Annoying” Ads from browser

Popular tech
firm, Google is making plans to block “annoying” ads in its Chrome browser,
part of a broader effort by industry players to filter out certain types of
marketing messages that draw complaints.

“We believe
online ads should be better. That’s why we joined the Coalition for Better Ads,
an industry group dedicated to improving online ads,” said Sridhar Ramaswamy,
Google’s senior vice president for advertising in a blog post Thursday.

“In dialogue
with the Coalition and other industry groups, we plan to have Chrome stop
showing ads (including those owned or served by Google) on websites that are
not compliant with the Better Ads Standards starting in early 2018.”

Google’s
move, in the works for some time, could end up reducing some ads served and
impact its own revenue, but it aims to improve the overall web experience and
discourage third-party ad-blockers that could have a more dramatic impact.

Ramaswamy
noted that “annoying” ads prompt some people to use ad-blockers that stop all
advertising content, hurting revenue for content creators.

“That means
they want the ads that run on their sites to be compelling, useful and engaging
— ones that people actually want to see and interact with.”

But he noted
that “it’s far too common that people encounter annoying, intrusive ads on the
web — like the kind that blares music unexpectedly, or force you to wait 10
seconds before you can see the content on the page.”

Google is a
founding member of the Coalition, which was formed last year and aims to
maintain the online advertising ecosystem while eliminating ads that many find
irritating.

The group
released guidelines earlier this year for ads on both mobile and desktop.

But some
analysts say it will be difficult for Google and others to set standards that
please all parties.

“It’s smart
for Google to be part of the push for limited ad blockers even if that may seem
counterintuitive, because if it can focus that activity on egregious ads rather
than all ads indiscriminately, it has a much better shot at protecting its own
massive ad revenue than if others take more of a blanket approach,” said Jan
Dawson of Jackdaw Research.

“We can be
certain that none of Google’s own sites or ad formats will be affected by this
filter, but we can also guess that there will be something of an outcry from
publishers feeling that Google is favouring itself while disadvantaging others.
It’s going to be fascinating to watch this play out over the next few months.”

According to
the research firm eMarketer, some 27.5 percent of US internet users will use ad
blockers this year.

Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, the Chief of Air
Staff has said the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is expecting new fighter aircraft
from no fewer than four countries to boost its capabilities, Owojela’s Blog
reports.

Walmart, a
popular retailer announced this Friday that it will begin testing a new service
that will allow customers with August smart home devices, like the August
doorbell and security cameras, to have their packages delivered inside their
home instead of left on the doorstep, Owojela’s Blog learnt.

Deloitte , a
corporate finance giant suffered a cyber-attack that compromised confidential
data, including the private emails of some of its clients, the company has
confirmed as Owojela’s Blog reports.

Google is
launching the successor to its Pixel smartphone on October 4, which is coincidentally the 2nd year anniversary of Africa’s fastest growing
blog Owojelas Blog, as confirmed by a new advertising campaign and official
landing page citing the date, and suggesting that anyone who is “thinking about
changing phones” tune in for more information coming on October 4.

First Lady of
the United States, Melania Trump had a royal meeting on Saturday. Before the
start of the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, Prince Harry and Trump met and sat
down together. Kensington Palace posted a photo on Saturday afternoon of the
meeting.

At least
three UN peacekeepers were killed Sunday during an attack on their convoy in
Mali, the UN mission to the conflict-torn country said, without specifying
their nationality, Owojela’s Blog learnt.